Smithsonian board elects new chairwoman

The Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents elected former Microsoft executive Patty Stonesifer on Monday as the next chairwoman of the board overseeing the world's largest museum and research complex.

Stonesifer recently stepped down as chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest charitable foundation, and has served on the Smithsonian board since 2001. She will replace Washington, D.C., businessman Roger Sant in January to lead the 17-member board.

Stonesifer said the Smithsonian's work to promote "unrivaled access, knowledge and culture" ties in with the education initiatives she led at the Gates Foundation.

"It is this idea of taking what I see to be the treasures of the institution and the treasures of the people's knowledge and passion and getting it out to the rest of the country," she said. "There's just so much here, but you shouldn't have to get on a JetBlue flight to come and experience it."

Stonesifer, who has homes in Washington, D.C., and Seattle, told The Associated Press in 2006 that she couldn't imagine a better opportunity than leading the Gates Foundation, which puts most of its money into global health, development and U.S. education. In the past decade, the foundation has given away more than $16 billion.

She has said her accomplishments in the business world couldn't compare to the way she feels about saving people's lives.

"I hope to die with my employee badge in my purse," she said in 2006. She stepped down as CEO of the Gates Foundation earlier this month but will stay on as senior adviser. Stonesifer also serves on the boards of Amazon.com, the Seattle Foundation and DATA/ONE, which focuses on reducing global poverty.

Stonesifer said she had planned to spend more time in the nation's capital, in part because her husband, Michael Kinsley, is a political journalist.

The Smithsonian recently installed its 12th chief executive, G. Wayne Clough, who has said he wants the museums to digitize their collections for use on the Internet and dramatically expand the Smithsonian's outreach to the nation's schools.

Clough will lead the Smithsonian's first major capital campaign. The goal is to raise more than $1 billion in five to seven years.

Stonesifer will lead the board, which includes six members of Congress, the vice president and the chief justice, in supporting the fundraising effort and improving its governance after the last Smithsonian chief executive resigned amid questions of his compensation and spending.

The unpaid board chairman position was created during a series of reforms after the regents were faulted for lax oversight of former Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small. Stonesifer led the board's governance committee, guiding the reform effort.

"Her role in all of this over the last couple of years has just been critical," said Sant, the outgoing chairman.

Stonesifer has served unofficially as vice chairwoman of the board since January. She was formally elected vice chair on Monday.

Sant and his wife, Vicki, announced a $15 million gift in June to support the new Ocean Hall opening Saturday at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.

Also Monday, the Smithsonian board approved a contract with George Mason University to build residence halls, classrooms and laboratories at its 3,000-acre National Zoo Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va. The joint-degree program, which began this year as a pilot program, will give students experience in biodiversity research and conservation work with Smithsonian scientists, Clough said.

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Associated Press writer Donna Gordon Blankinship in Seattle contributed to this report.